Apparatus for tempering wire



H ALEXANDER, W. T. VINT AND A. IMBERY. APPARATUS FOR TEMPERING WIRE.APPLICATION FILED MAR.3. 1919.

1,355,521, Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT ALEXANDER, WYNDHAM T. VINT, AND ARTHUR IMBER Y, OF LEEDS,

ENGLAND; SAID ALEXANDER AND SAID VIN T ASSIGNORS TO SAID IMBERY.

APPARATUS FOR TEMPEBING- WIRE.

Application filed March 3,

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, HERBERT ALEXANDER, VVYNDHAM THEoDoRE VIN'r, andARTHUR IMBERY, subjects of the King of Great Brit ain, residing at 1Charmouth street, Leeds, in the county of York, England, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Tempering WVire, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the hardening and tempering of steel and othermetal wire, which is accomplished by heating the wire, passing itthrough an oil or other ,cooling bath and repeating the operation.

For some purposes it is desired that steel or other metal wire, whetherbare or tinned, should be bright after hardening and tempering, but thisdesideratum has been difficult to obtain when the wire is electricallyheated, and practically impossible where a gas or other flame is theheating agent, owing to the rapidity with which the surface of the wireoxidizes when exposed at a high temperature to the air. It haspreviously been proposed to heat the wire electrically while passingthrough an inclosed chamber, and then to cool it b passing it through anoil bath; but accor ing to the present in vention we effect both theheating and the cooling in the same oil bath, whereby all access of airto the wire while at the critical temperature can be effectuallyprevented.

The accompanying drawing shows a longitudinal section through anapparatus for carrying out our invention.

In the oil bath, which may be an openv topped trough 24, we arrange twopairs of rollers 25 and 26, the distance apart of these rollers beingadjustable. The wire 27 passes through an approximately air-tightchamber'28, thence into the trough 24, between the two pairs of rollers,and on leaving the trough passes through another approximately air-tightchamber 30; the trough contains oil, which is always kept at such alevel as to immerse thoroughly the traveling wire. Conductors 34 are ledto each pair of rollers, and the traveling wire completes the circuitwhile it is passing between the rollers, in known manner. The wire thusgradually heated, on leaving the second pair Specification of LettersPatent.

I Patented Oct. 12, 1920. 1919. Serial No. 280,360.

of rollers, continues to travel through the oil for a ruflicientdistance to reduce its heat as required. At each end of the trough s anoil overflow 31; the oil thus escaping is cooled and pumped back to apipe 35 above the trough, which delivers it upon the surface of the oilin the trough; by regulating the rapidity of this circulation the oil iskept at a suitable temperature.

The chambers at each end of the tank may be provided with glands iffound necessary, but in our experiments we have found a washer 33 of asestos or other fiber surrounding the wire and sealing the apertures ofthe chambers to be sufficient.

lVe find that the presence of the oil in which the wire and rollers areimmersed does not interfere with the making of good contact between therollers or pulleys and the wire. The first pair of rollers or pulleys 25may be stationary near the point of entry of the wire, and the secondpair 26 may be moved longitudinally in the trough toward or away fromthe said first pair by a screw 36, or other suitable means, in order tovary the proportionate distances and therefore the time during which thewire is being heated-between the first and second pairs, and duringwhich it is cooling between the second pair and the exit from thetrough.

. Two or more similar troughs may be employed in succession in order torepeat the operation where necessary.

We claim as our invention 1. In apparatus for tempering wire, a singlevessel for holding oil for cooling the wire, pairs of rollers arrangedin the vessel and supporting the wire in the oil between them, and meansfor conducting an electric current to the pairs of rollers to heat thesubmerged stretch of wire between them.

2. In apparatus for tempering wire, a single vessel for holding oil forcooling the wire, pairs of rollers arranged in the vessel and supportingthe wire in the oil between them, substantially air-tight chambers atthe ends of the said vessel for the wire topass through, and means forconducting an electric current to the pairs of rollers to heat thesubmerged stretch of wire between them.

3. In apparatus for tempering wire, a single vessel for holding oil forcooling the wire, pairs of rollers arranged in the vessel and supportingthe wire in the oil between them, means for adjusting the distance apartof'the pairs of rollers to vary the length of the stretch of wire to betreated, and means for conducting an electric current to the pairsofrollers to heat the submerged stretch of wire between them.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signa- 16 tures in the presence of twowitnesses.

Witnesses:

GERTRUDE VVRIGHT, H. T. RHODES.

